The vocal ensemble Trio Mediaeval, whose singing explores the mysterious nexus where the medieval meets the present, was founded in Oslo in 1997. Its original members were Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth, and Torunn Østrem Ossum. When Torunn left the group at the end of 2013, she was replaced by Berit Opheim, who had been singing regularly with the ensemble since 2010.

“We approach medieval music as if it were written today,” says Friman; “medieval and contemporary pieces seem to fit incredibly well together.” The trio's core repertoire features sacred monophonic and polyphonic medieval music from England, Italy, and France; contemporary works written for the ensemble (by Anna Clyne, Gavin Bryars, William Brooks, Ivan Moody, Sungji Hong, Oleh Harkavyy, Bjørn Kruse, Trygve Seim and Andrew Smith, among others); as well as traditional Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic ballads and songs. In recent years, the trio has also developed collaborations both with individual musicians and larger ensembles and orchestras.

Following acclaimed albums which juxtapose the medieval and the modern (“Words of the Angel”, “Soir, dit-elle”, and “Stella Maris”), the group were joined by Norwegian percussionist Birger Mistereggen for their 2008 release, “Folk Songs”, an exploration of Norway’s folk heritage. In his liner notes for the trio’s 2014 album, “Aquilonis”, John Potter describes the group’s ability to "create a synthesis of sound and atmosphere... history and geography blending seamlessly”.
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